6th LF govt to be sworn in on March 10 in Tripura

Agartala, Mar 8: Mr Manik Sarkar will be sworn in as the Chief Minister of Tripura at the head of the sixth Left Front government on Monday.

Twelve ministers also would take the oath of office and secrecy along with Mr Sarkar, who will be sworn in as the Chief Minister for the third consecutive term. Both the state secretariat and CPI(M) state committee meeting discussed the issue today and indicated that the new government would assume office on Monday, CPI(M) spokesperson Goutam Das told UNI here today.

The Speaker and the Deputy Speaker would also be given the oath of secrecy on Monday.

Indicating the distribution of ministerial birth, Mr Das said the ministry would be formed in consultation with two other constituents of the Left Front--the CPI and the RSP-- since Forward Bloc had come out of the front before elections.

In the outgoing ministry, the CPI did not have any representatives for full term. Initially, Manindra Reang of CPI, who won the election this time too from Shantirbazar had been accommodated in the cabinet in 2003 but after the 97th constitional amendment, Mr Reang was axed along with four others.

However, four new faces are likely to be inducted in the new ministry, as RSP had changed their nomination in the election and food minister of the state Gopal Das was kept away from the fight.

Two RSP nominees had won the elections. Joy Gobinda Debroy of the party and three times MLA might be accommodated in the ministry while Manindra Reang, the only winner of CPI, has chances to make a comeback in the ministry though big brother CPI(M) was firmly against him.

''Mr Reang was the only CPI nominee in the previous ministry, but his performance had compelled us to exclude him from the cabinet during the downsizing of the ministry in 2004,'' said a sitting minister of the state.

Meanwhile, the lone woman minister in the House Bijoy Laxmi Sinha was defeated this time. However, Left Front sources ruled out the possibility of accommodating more than one woman in the cabinet.

Out of five CPI(M) women candidates, three had won the election.

At the same time, sitting Animal Resource Minister Pranab Debbarma would also be replaced by senior tribal leader and sitting Chief Executive Member of Tripura Tribal Areas Autonomous District Council (TTAADC) Aghore Debbarma and another tribal leader Niranjan Debbarma might also be included in the ministry, sources said.

Deputy Speaker Subal Rudra was defeated in the election and the post would be filled up by another veteran communist Samir Deb Sarkar who won Khowai seat for the sixth term, party insiders added.